Courtesy photo
Ethan Brown of Lowell, Mass., won both the sprint and half iron distance races at the Pumpkinman Triathlon Festival which took place on Sept. 8 and 9.

SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — Ethan Brown of Lowell, Mass., won both the sprint and half iron distance races at the Pumpkinman Triathlon Festival which took place on Sept 8 and 9. Brown, who narrowly missed making the USA Triathlon team for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, finished the sprint race in a time of 58:26 and missed the half iron course record by only seconds with a time of 3:54:29.

Matthew Russell, 2012 Ironman Canada champion, finished in second place in the half iron just seconds ahead of two-time defending champion, Mike Caiazzo. Russell and Caiazzo finished third and fourth respectively in Saturday's sprint race. Both were edged by Connor Jennings who finished second in the short course event.

Katie Hursey defeated two-time defending champion Catherine Sterling in the women's sprint event and finished in sixth place overall. Amber Ferreira, a professional from New Hampshire, finished third.

Ferreira returned on Sunday for the half iron and won the event by more than eight minutes. Amanda Kourtz and Andrea Wilhelm crossed the line in second and third respectively.

Kyle Burnell of South Berwick was the top local performer in the sprint race, finishing 5th place overall in a time of 1:04:00. On the women's side, Deborah Towle of Eliot took the top local honors with a time of 1:28:50.

Jason Gori of South Berwick topped the list of local competitors by completing the half iron in 5:10:50 and finishing in 92nd place overall. Lauren Berman of North Berwick was the fastest local female half iron finisher with a time of 6:32:42.

Since its inception in 2007, the Pumpkinman Triathlon Festival has awarded and donated over $150,000 back to the communities in Southern Maine. The Festival which takes place on September 8 and 9, 2012, hosts over 1100 multisport athletes and 2000 spectators! Its success is due in part to the participation and volunteerism of over 250 local volunteers.